This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Body Parts Found in Backpack Left in DTLA Hotel Room
Photo by CarbonNYC via Flickr
A housekeeper at a Downtown hotel made a gruesome discovery in the room belonging to a Pennsylvania couple, according to LA Now, and now the pair are "wanted in the slaying and dismemberment of a Hollywood man" whose body was dismembered into several parts and the pieces stashed inside the room.The LAPD and the LA District Attorney are searching for Edward Garcia Jr., 36, and his wife, Melissa Hope Garcia, 25 (aka Melissa Turner), who "are believed either to be in Hollywood or en route to Pennsylvania." An LAPD officer says their room at the Continental Hotel, near Skid Row, showed signs "the suspects were attempting to clean up the scene and attempting to remove the body from the location."
Body parts belonging to the victim, Herbert Tracy White, 49, were found inside a backpack left behind by the couple. "Additional body parts were found wrapped in blankets underneath the bed, police said, and a knife was recovered in the small hotel room." The LAPD believe it was a case of a "robbery gone wrong."
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
